Crossing Paths With A Future Unimagined
by DobbyRocksSocks
Summary: A lonely child, an unassuming ghost. An unlikely friendship, but perhaps, one for the ages.


**Disclaimer - I own nothing you recognise.**

 **Written for Hogwarts, term 10, assignment 1. R.E. Task 2** \- Spending time with a ghost.

 **Other challenges Listed at the bottom.**

 **Word count** \- 1741

 _Beta'd by Amber_

* * *

 **Crossing Paths With A Future Unimagined**

* * *

Lily walked the corridors of the old castle, her arms swinging aimlessly by her sides. It was so close to the winter holidays, and she just wanted to go home already. She hadn't settled into the school the same way Al and James had, and really, she missed her parents so much it actually hurt.

It sucked when she thought about it.

She'd hoped, all those months ago when she'd climbed on the train, that she'd make new friends immediately, the same way James and Al did. She'd never been more jealous of her brothers than when they immediately left her alone to go and join their friends.

Both of them had met people on the train, and Lily had hoped that maybe she could do the same thing. She dreamed of the lifelong friendships her parents had made on their first trips to Hogwarts.

Except…

That hadn't happened.

Lily hadn't made friends on the train, and when she got to Hogwarts, nervously sitting on the tiny little stool with the Sorting Hat, her only thought had been that she wanted to make friends.

She regretted that now, her yellow tie almost mocking her every time she looked in the mirror.

James and Albus had laughed themselves sick over it, a Gryffindor and a Slytherin respectively. She'd defended her House feistily to them, all the while lamenting her agreement with their words in her mind.

She'd written to her parents and told them, rewriting the letter four times to take the whine out of her words. She didn't want them to think she was unhappy, especially not her dad. He put so much into make her safe and happy, that she didn't want to disappoint him.

Besides, it wasn't like being in Hufflepuff had helped her make friends. None of them were interested in talking to her beyond polite pleasantries. She'd tried, the first few days, with the girls in her dorm, but not a single one of them made any effort back so Lily gave up.

Since then, she'd kept herself to herself.

She looked around the corridor she was in, blinking when she realised she didn't recognise it. Groaning, she rubbed her face. It was almost curfew, the last thing she needed was to be lost!

She walked to the end of the corridor, hoping she'd recognise something, to no avail. She didn't know what to do. If she came across a teacher, would they even believe that she'd honestly just gotten lost rather than purposefully broke the rules?

"Are you quite alright, Miss?"

Lily spun around to find a ghost in front of her, floating a little from the ground, it's pearlescent substance glowing slightly in the dim light.

It was a female, dressed in a flowing gown that spoke of centuries past. Lily felt a passing curiosity as to who the ghost could be, but instead answered the asked question.

"I, uh, I got lost," she admitted, completely embarrassed when her words were punctuated with a sniffle.

"Come, dearie, allow me to escort you back to your common area," the ghost offered, gesturing down the corridor. Lily followed along, her shoulders hunched.

"What brought you up here anyway, Miss? You looked deep in thought."

Lily sighed. "Just… can't wait to go home for the holidays."

The ghost lady looked back at her, a small smile tilting her lips. "Oh? Your expression tells me there's more to your story than just a wish for home comforts."

She shrugged her shoulders. "Maybe. I guess I just expected Hogwarts to be… different."

A light chuckle came after her words, and Lily looked up at the woman to see her looking at Lily with a fond smile. "You are young, my dear. You'll gain much from this old castle, you mark my words."

Lily nodded, because that's what you were supposed to do when an adult gave you advice. Grandma Molly had always told her that, even if she didn't agree, she was to accept it with grace.

"I believe you can find your way from here, my dear?" the ghost questioned, gesturing to the Grand Staircase. Lily nodded, surprised that they'd arrived in the main area of the castle so fast. It had felt like she'd walked miles earlier in the evening.

"Thank you, Miss… I'm sorry, I don't know your name," Lily said quietly.

"Bridget, dear, and it was no problem at all. You're welcome to come and visit me, if you ever wish to do so."

Lily smiled. "Thank you."

She waved awkwardly to Bridget and set off down the stairs at an almost run, her hand skating along the banister. When she entered the common room, it was to glares from the older students.

"What were you doing out past curfew?" one of the prefects asked, frowning.

Lily checked her watch and realised she was indeed fifteen minutes late. "I got lost. One of the ghosts helped me back to the Grand Staircase."

"Which ghost?"

"Uhh, she said her name was Bridget?"

The prefect rolled her eyes. "You don't have to lie to us, Lily. Just try not to miss curfew, okay?"

"Erm. Sure?"

…

Lily went home and had the best two weeks. James and Al had time for her again, she got to spend time with her mum and dad and the rest of her family and she didn't ever want it to end.

Not once did she think about Bridget.

…

"Lily?"

Lily blinked, stopping in the corridor. "Oh. Hi, Bridget," she murmured. "How are you?"

"I must admit, I didn't expect you to return," Bridget replied, floating closer. "Most do not."

Lily nodded awkwardly. She really didn't want to admit that she hadn't intended to visit at all; she'd just been wandering again.

"Why don't you tell me about your classes?" Bridget asked, floating alongside Lily as she walked the corridor slowly.

Lily hesitated, but nodded, and started explaining about what she'd learnt that week. Bridget listened to every word, nodding and smiling in all the right places, and by the time they reached the grand staircase, Lily realised that she was actually smiling herself.

She didn't do that very often anymore.

"Thanks for walking back with me," she said, and Bridget offered her a wide smile.

"Of course, my dear."

…

It became a new pattern. Lily would often find herself in Bridget's corridor, and everytime, Bridget would ask a simple question and just listen to Lily talk.

When Lily went home for the next holiday, and then for the summer, she found herself unwilling to tell any of her family about Bridget. She didn't know why really, but the prefect's reaction kept coming back to her mind.

When her mum and dad asked about her friends, Lily just gave them vague names of those in her house and glared threateningly at James and Al until the subject was changed.

She'd long since realised that she didn't need friends. She had Bridget.

…

Midway through her third year, and Lily raced through the corridors, searching and searching until she skidded to a stop in front of the familiar face of her only friend in the castle.

"Bridget!"

"What is it, my dear!"

"You… You're Bridget Wenlock, aren't you?"

Bridget's smile widened. "I am indeed, my dear. How was your arithmancy class?"

Lily grinned.

…

In fifth year, Lily sprawled on the little travelled corridor with Bridget for company, her books spread all around her, instead of in the library. There was no surprise to her when she passed her Arithmancy O.W.L with the best grade in the year.

…

"I'll miss you," Lily whispered, a tear falling down her cheek. "You're the only person that's kept me sane my entire time in this school."

Bridget's arms twitched like she wanted to reach out and hug Lily. Lily would have let her, even though she was aware of the horrible feeling when ghost's touched humans. For Bridget, she'd have accepted it.

"Come with my, my dear," she said instead, leading Lily along the opposite corridor to the one they'd walked so many times together. Lily followed, a little confused but certainly more than curious.

"Back when I was a student here," Bridget said, when they arrived upon a particularly dilapidated part of the castle. "I spent so many hours up here in this room. Over the years, I've feared that this part of the castle would be reappropriated, but not even the battle that tore the castle apart laid waste here. Do you see those scraps of parchment?"

She gestured to a pile of parchment in the corner, and Lily approached, picking them up carefully. She laid them on an old desk, frowning slightly.

"Bridget, there's nothing on them?"

"Invisible ink, my dear. Even when I was young, I favoured it over normal ink. Women were often discarded while men took credit for our discoveries in my day, and so, this was my way to protect my work. I'd like you to take them. Take them and see what you can do with them. I have no doubt that you'll be able to solve the problems I never could."

"I… I can't take these," Lily whispered.

"Of course you can," Bridget replied fondly. "And now that I've found someone worthy to pass my secrets onto, perhaps I'll finally be able to find some peace of my own. There is two other places where my secrets are hidden my dear. One, close to my gravesite, there's a small hole in an old tree. And the other, by the river of the house I once lived, a large rock holds my most precious discoveries."

"I'll find them," Lily promised. "I'll find them, and when I do, I'll have you recognised for everything you knew, I swear it."

Bridget smiled. "Many of them are unfinished, Lily. I task you with completing my work. I would entrust this to none but you."

"I… I'll make you proud, Bridget. I promise."

"Oh, my dear Lily. You already do."

…

That was the last time Lily ever saw Bridget. On the few attempts she'd made since then to visit the castle, and her oldest friend in particular, she'd never found trace of the ghost that meant so much to her.

But she found her papers.

And she solved many of the half written theorems.

Lily worked hard for the rest of her life to make Bridget proud.

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 **Note -** On Pottermore, it says of Bridget Wenlock; _A famous thirteenth-century witch celebrated for her skills in Arithmancy. Protective of her theorems, she wrote many of her ideas down in invisible ink making them somewhat easy to misplace._

 **Written for;**

Showtime - 13. Whine

Days of the Year; 47. Meeting someone new.

Winter; Sniffle

Cheese Board - Bleu Cheese; Lily Luna Potter

365 - 99. Advice

Scavenger Hunt - 52. A Character you've never written before (Bridget Wenlock)


End file.
